Are the MacBook Air 's days numbered?

[G+_Chris Cox]

Are the MacBook Air's days numbered?

 

Originally shared by It Is What It Is - Tech Blog

 

Chris Cox questions how much longer Apple will keep the MacBook Air around now that it looks like the iPad Air is getting split-screen multitasking.

https://tech.itiswhatitis.biz/macbook-air-endangered-species/

[G+_Uncle Joe (Uncle Joe Hi]

Journalists seem bent on the demise of laptops and for that matter PC's. Tablets are great but how are you going to write the apps they run? Tablets can, as they have so far, co-exist with computers. You'll always need a truck even if you don't own one. You need something to work on. I can't do significant work on a tablet. Even if you found programs that could do what I need they likely wouldn't do them well. Relax. Tablets are another tool. Just because you have a crescent wrench that doesn't mean you throw out your socket set!

[G+_Chris Cox]

Joseph Polk I don't think laptops are going away just yet, if ever. But tablets are certainly nipping at their heels in terms of functionality. The MacBook Air may find itself in an odd position for Apple and consumers both if the iPad offers the same functionality and sits at nearly the same price point.

[G+_Tim Allen]

Joseph Polk I agree.  Everything is black and white in tech journalism.  Windows was the Mac killer.  Linux was the Windows killer.  The laptop was going to kill the desktop.  The PDA was going to kill the desktop.  Android is going to kill the iPhone.  iOS was going to kill the Mac OS on the desktop.  The iPad is going to kill the Mac.  When the iPad’s numbers stalled recently, then the iPhone is going to kill the iPad.  

 

It’s gotten to be exhausting and out-of-touch with reality.  I think part of the problem is that tech journalists tend to have a very limited scope in their own personal need of technology.  Most could probably work quite well with a Mac Plus, MS Word and a 2400 baud modem.

 

It’s true some products do kill off others, but not nearly in the scope journalists would have you believe.  

 

Why can a banana and an orange, both $1 sit on the same shelf, but an iPad and a MacBook Air of similar costs can’t? 

[G+_Chris Cox]

Tim Allen In Apple's case, one product killing off another is quite common. The iPhone cannibalizes the iPod Touch, which is near extinction. The MacBook Pro with a spinning hard drive and without a retina display is almost certainly going to disappear this year. It isn't too unlikely to see a future in which Apple concentrates on three versions of an iPad (Mini, Air and Pro) and drops the MacBook Air line altogether, leaving the MacBook Pro as its laptop lineup. Personally, as someone who long wanted a MacBook Air before buying a Chromebook this year, I'd like to see Apple make the MacBook Air more affordable and cloud-centric. But Apple has moved very slowly when it comes to cloud computing, so I'm not holding my breath there.

[G+_Tim Allen]

Chris Cox I was talking about products and product categories, not necessarily the technology in them like spinning drives and displays.  

 

In regards to the iPod.  It's still here.   It was supposed to be dead years ago, yet Apple remade the Touch into a product that is in many ways superior to the iPhone.  Last year people said it was dead because Apple didn't update it.  They did, they just changed the colors, which is typical of their cycle.  It's a great product for those who don't want a monthly cell phone bill, but journalists bill it as a child's toy that is always at death's door.  

 

I understand why you might want a cloud-centric Air, but I personally wouldn't.  Internet just isn't reliable enough here, I've had numerous problems with documents stored in the cloud too.  Not to mention the bandwidth caps and types of media I need to save.  

 

My rant is about tech journalism overall, I wasn't jumping on you personally, just Joseph's response gave me an opening to express my frustration. 

[G+_Chris Cox]

No sweat Tim Allen. I try to respond to most comments to make sure I've explained myself well enough. :)

I owned the first-generation iPod Touch and would love to have another, especially if auto manufacturers widely adopt in-car WiFi. I could see a device like that replacing an iPhone for me if Apple ever gave it a true spec bump.

I'm hopeful Chromebooks can gain traction even if they don't appeal to everyone because of connectivity or other issues. The reason I say this is because the appeal of Chrome OS is the low price for the hardware and the low specs needed to drive it.

I'm hoping that Chromebooks' success spurs both Apple and Windows to come down on the price of their devices as well as look at cutting back on operating systems that are far too advanced for most users.

And laptops as a whole aren't going anywhere until someone can at least figure out how a better way to handle manipulation of text on a touch device. I much prefer commands c, x, v and z to anything a touch OS has yet to offer.

[G+_Uncle Joe (Uncle Joe Hi]

I don't have an interest in cloud. As someone who has traveled, the gaps in coverage aren't worth it. Storing some files or maybe keeping email online is fine but unless you're urban-centric I don't see the value. However, if you're always in an office or home, it makes sense for many people.

 

I'm glad to see Apple's approach. Some things will indeed be supplanted but  they seem to draw a distinction between iOS and OS X, between working and doing some work. Blending enough to be complementary to each other but distinct enough to qualify them for their jobs.